The new Potentilla cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, Timothy D. Wood, in Grand Haven, Mich. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new Potentilla varieties with continuous blooming and strong flower colors that resist fading. The open pollination resulting in this new variety was made during July of 2010.
The new Potentilla ‘SMPFMY’ resulted from an open pollination with several different Potentilla fruticosa plants as both seed parents and pollen parents. Both exact seed and pollen parent are unknown. The new variety was identified as a potentially interesting selection in June of 2013, at a nursery in Grand Haven, Mich.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘SMPFMY’ by softwood cuttings was first performed during June of 2013, at commercial greenhouse in Grand Haven, Mich. Subsequent propagation has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in three successive generations.